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DevilDriver - Pray for Villains
| Sputnikmusic |
| Dez Fafara is a man on a mission: To get rid of the nu-metal itch. As most of you are aware, Coal Chamber was his first spotlight band during the heydays of the nu-metal genre. When nu-metal decided to take a wrong turn into rap-metal territory, most bands were left with a stigma of sorts and simply couldn’t shake the monkey off their backs when the metal community decided to turn hostile, trying to forget the mess that the genre had become. Fafara would regroup quickly after the dreaded last Coal Chamber album Dark Days and form Devildriver. Still, Fafara was plagued on DevilDriver’s self-titled debut by the nu-metal bug that was further etched into his psyche by critics who criticized him for continuing to wave the Coal Chamber flag. It was in 2005 when Fafara, with a whole new line-up, channelled all of his anger into The Fury of Our Maker’s Hands which garnered the band the acclaim they deserved through aggressive, groove driven modern metal. Even if this didn’t shut up critics and pessimists alike, 2007s The Last Kind Words was even more aggressive with technical splashes of melody and a downright superb drummer (showcased on The Fury.. as well) that cemented Fafara’s stance as a true metal leader and all the while shedding off his nu-metal roots for good. Pray for Villains is a mature extension of where The Last Kind Words left off and brings even more of the goods this time around....full text |
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| Chroniclesofchaos |
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Spare a thought for poor old Dez Fafarra. Consorting with the likes of Coal Chamber means that, in likelihood, he will be tarred with the nu metal brush for the remainder of his existence, no matter how hard he tries to convince the sceptics otherwise. He's certainly been giving it his level best. Devildriver's debut was a thoroughly entertaining slab of groove-orientated modern metal -- kind of like the last Rambo movie played over grinding guitars and a whir of double-bass drumming. It wasn't particularly smart, but it packed a solid left hook to the kisser and sounded a heck of a lot more unique than many of the band's peers. Its successors, 2005's _The Fury of Our Maker's Hand_ and _The Last Kind Words_ two years later, didn't pack quite the same clout, thanks in no small part to the quintet opting to show off their melodic sensibilities in a transparent bid to gain cred with those stern faces in the underground who had written off their debut. Curiously, _Pray for Villains_ sits somewhere between the Devildriver's first and subsequent releases; an album of two halves in more ways than one. The dual onslaught of "Pure Sincerity" and "Fate Stepped In" leave no doubt that when these boys want to do aggressive, they have the potential to be a bona fide force of nature. Crafted around battering grooves and hooky choruses, this is testosterone-addled metal at its finest -- the kind that makes you want to go double the speed limit or simply just fuck shit up. It shows off the band at their most mature and polished, even if the chorus on "Back With a Vengeance" suggests that they're a long way off working through all of their youthful angst. No sooner have they got your head bobbing however, for what Devildriver revert back to their melodic death metal stylings. "Resurrection Boulevard" and "It's in the Cards" both sound like they're just trying a little too hard to be timeless hits with the In Flames crowd, while "Teach Me to Whisper" is just plain old lame. A few bright blips aside (most notably in the shape of "Bitter Pill"), the album's second act recycles ideas that should have been laid to rest for good years ago....full text |
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| Asice |
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I never really cared too much for Coal Chamber, so when Dez started with DevilDriver I never checked it out. I assumed he was going to follow through on the commercial success Coal Chamber accomplishing. However, DevilDriver was doing it another way. They have been looking for boundaries of extreme metal. So they did caught my attention at a certain point. But I was wondering how much further could DevilDriver go with this formula. It seems that with Pray For Villains they took the formula to the next level. They did more than just taking the best out of death and black metal and adding that modern American sound. In the past, they already made a mixture that was quite easy consumable, without sounding too commercial. This time they even went a step further. DevilDriver added a whole bunch of groove and melody. This might look easier than it is, because there's always the risk of losing the strong points of the previous albums. Namely that their heavy style just blows your socks off. You don't have to worry, it's still very heavy and destructive music. But the total package has become bigger. The songs expanded and nest in your head quicker. It stays interesting though, because there are several layers. The title song Pray For Villains and I've Been Sober actually summarize what this album is all about. Pounding verses, epical choruses, but without taking the foot of the gaspedal. This is modern metal the way it should be....full text |
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